Save the Last Dance for Me
by JolieFille
Summary: A oneshot songfic written to the tune of Save the Last Dance for Me by Michael Buble. A LilyJames story.


**A/N: This is in response to a challenge made by ElvenMalfoy , to write a one-shot to the tune of Michael Buble's "Save The Last Dance For Me"…so…ok, I have to say I hate it. Lol. I started out really excited, but I look back at it, I've decided that I hate it. Now, after reading it, you decide if I'm just being a perfectionist, or if I indeed have good judgment. Just..er..be nice..because this is new, so naturally (I think), I have no confidence in this story. :P**

Save the Last Dance For Me

_You can dance - every dance with the guy  
Who gives you the eye, let him hold you tight  
You can smile - every smile for the man  
Who held your hand 'neath the pale moon light_

James stared absently at Rosmerta, the new waitress at The Three Broomsticks. He briefly remembered when he had first met her – he was a first year and she was a fifth year. She had helped him find his way to the Gryffindor common room when he had gotten lost during his first week at Hogwarts. It was then that he had first fallen in love…only to have fallen out of it a week later when he gave her a bunch of daisies he had picked outside and received a pinch on the cheeks from her, learning that he was "adorable", or so she had told her boyfriend, who was sitting nearby. He wondered, as he took a swig of butterbeer, if she enjoyed being a waitress. Of course, their family owned The Three Broomsticks and so she was destined to take over the business, but still…serving food and drinks all day seemed rather boring.

…Though it probably kept her busy…especially today. Today was February 14th. Today was Valentine's Day, and it seemed like every Hogwarts student over the age of twelve was in Hogsmeade, paired up and physically linked either by the hands, arms or lips. Everyone except him. Well, and Sirius. And Peter. The three of them were sitting together actually, drinking butterbeer in relative silence. Peter had brought along his homework, because he had fallen behind in Transfiguration again. Sirius didn't want to "deal" with romancing anyone today, as he had said this morning, and claimed to have infinitely preferred marauding to snogging.

Remus, the only marauder not present, had managed to get a date. Well, managed to _have_ a date. He had hardly even done the actual getting. Natalia Halistad was a Gryffindor in their year, and Remus had had a crush on her since the day she offhandedly mentioned in Charms that some muggle woman, Emily Dickinson, was one of her favorite poets. Though he talked little of her, it was clear that their lupine friend wanted to take Natalia out…probably to Madam Pudifoots to read poetry to each other and gaze sappily into each other's eyes. He was shy though, he had never dated before. He didn't know how to ask her. So a week ago, when the four marauders were studying in the Gryffindor common room, Natalia had come in through the portrait hole alone. Remus immediately immersed himself in a book. Sirius however, grinning broadly and strutting across the common room like he was heir to Gryffindor, approached Natalia.

"Oi, Natalia! I was wondering if you'd fancy a date with my pal Remus," he started, craning his head back to find Remus staring wide-eyed at his friend. "I think you two would have fun. He's a right gentleman, he is…holds doors open, he'll give you his coat if you get cold, and he's quite the romantic. Loves that poncey poetry with a passion"—

By then, Remus had gotten up and pulled Sirius away from Natalia, blushing and apologizing profusely to her. She giggled and said she's love to go out, and Remus had looked very startled. He had been rather nervous since the day of the asking, and had taken to throwing up a few times in the loos, including this morning. James couldn't help but smile at his friend's troubles. He was afraid of the date being a dud…afraid of Natalia being bored by him, or repulsed by him in some way. _Idiot_, he thought to himself. Still, Sirus, Peter, and he had offered what they could to their friend, from dining and conversation tips to the shoes James had lent him for the day.

So to James, it seemed that he was the only one who was involuntarily going stag. (He smiled ruefully at the pun he had inadvertently thought up). To no one's surprise, he had made attempts to get Lily Evans to go out with him on this day, and to no one's surprise, she had flatly turned him down. He sighed, glancing up to meet Sirius's grey eyes, which currently looked rather bored.

"For God's sake, Prongs…"

James sat up straighter. "What?"

"Look, I'm bored…You're depressed, and Wormtail's busy with his homework. Why don't we just go back to the castle and hang out there?" Sirius asked, glancing around at the room that was getting fuller every minute. He brushed a lock of black hair out of his eyes. "We could probably have more fun there. No one's around."

Peter came up from his books, stretching his arms overhead. "Good idea. I think I can get some more serious studying done at the library."

James shrugged, but didn't say anything as Sirius and Peter began collecting their things to go. He glanced out of the frost-covered window, and watched the masses of annoyingly happy couples mill around outside in the cold. Then he saw her. Them. She was adjusting the hood of her forest green cloak. He was laughing at something she had just said.

_But don't forget who's takin' you home  
And in whose arms you're gonna be  
So darlin' save the last dance for me_

"Prongs!"

James glanced up, finding Peter and Sirius standing over him, ready to go. "Oh, are we going?" he asked innocently. He glanced back at the window. They were still there.

Sirius peered over James's shoulder. "Who are we looking at?" he asked. His eyes roamed over the crowds of students outside, and a moment later he let out an exasperated sigh. He has spotted them.

"Lily?" Peter asked, saying the name with a tired sort of strain in his voice without even looking at the window.

Sirius dropped his bag and fell back onto the chair next to James. "I swear, one of these days I'm going to slip Evans a love potion for you. Put all of us out of our misery…"

James wheeled around, cocking an eyebrow at Sirius. "Am I that annoying?"

Sirius simply rolled his eyes in reply, his mouth twitching into a small smile.

Now certain that his friends weren't _truly_ annoyed with him, James turned his attention back to the window. Lily was hugging herself from the cold, and her date, Jack Wanler (_Jack Wanker, more like it_, James thought to himself) had put an arm around her to keep her warm. With clenched fists, James dug his hands into his pockets. What could she possibly see in _him_? Sure, he was a nice guy, but that hardly mattered. He wasn't very interesting. Lily needed someone interesting. Someone fun.

Feeling even more dejected than he had felt five minutes ago, James turned to face his friends and slumped back in his chair. Reaching his hand back into his pocket, he withdrew the tiny golden snitch he had stolen from Madam Hooch's office the previous year, forcing the school to purchase a new one. He smiled slightly at the memory as he stroked the wings of the ball.

"Oi"—Sirius started as he put down his empty butterbeer bottle with a small thud and pointed at James's snitch with his index finger—"be a pal and show off for Rosmerta when she comes by and get us another free round of drinks, eh?"

James grinned, and only responded by letting go of the snitch, allowing it go about an arm's length away before quickly snatching it back.

"Hah!" he said triumphantly as he caught the zooming snitch right before it hit Sirius's empty butterbeer bottle, nearly knocking it down.

Peter looked up from his homework and watched the golden ball buzz around the table. While he never really played the sport, Peter was an avid quidditch fan who took delight in watching anything quidditch or flying related.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in." Sirius said in a low voice a few moments later, bowing his head slightly into the table.

James looked up, and nearly lost his grip on the snitch that was struggling between his fingers. Lily and Jack had waltzed into The Three Broomsticks. Literally. He had a hand on her waist, and she had a hand on his shoulder, and they did a twirling sort of motion as they came through the door, laughing hysterically together.

"And she brought twinkle-toes with her…" Sirius added with a smirk.

_Oh I know that the music's fine  
Like sparklin' wine, go and have your fun  
Laugh and sing, but while we're apart  
Don't give your heart to anyone_

James shoved his snitch back into his pocket as he watched the happy couple take their seats at a small table several feet away from them. He watched as Jack leaned forward to say something to Lily, to which she responded by rolling her eyes as she took off her cloak and hung it around the back of her chair. A moment later, Rosmerta appeared at their side, blocking James's view. James fell back into his seat, his mind racing through all the possible ways he could ruin Jack's chances with Lily.

James absently picked up his wand, which had been sitting on the tabletop, and began running his index finger against it. He mentally went through the appropriate hexes for date rivals in his head, each one sounding more appealing than the previous one. Yet as James pictured himself performing each of the hexes, the image of Lily's startling green eyes darting angrily at him with a scowl to match it soon drove away any desire to hurt or embarrass Jack. He was tired of her scowls and dismissive hand, her eye-rolling and exasperated sighs. He wanted her so much, and would probably go to any lengths short of tattooing "I love Severus" on his forehead to have her. Yet he was tired of her attitude toward him, which usually ranged anywhere from indifferent to hostile. He briefly considered resigning himself to the fact that Lily Evans would never in this lifetime give her heart to him…but he couldn't accept it. Not now. Not yet.

_But don't forget who's takin' you home  
And in whose arms you're gonna be  
So darlin' save the last dance for me  
_

Perhaps after they graduated…or after Lily got married and had children that James would begin moving towards acceptance. But right now he still had a chance. A very slim chance, next to no chance at all, but the fact of the matter was that there was still a possibility, and he couldn't ignore that.

James let out a small sigh as he turned his attention back to his friends, who were currently discussing the inner workings of goats.

"I'm telling you Wormtail, goats don't get kidney stones! That was probably a bezoar you threw out." Sirius said, brushing his long black hair out of his face.

Peter shook his head. "My uncle said it was a kidney stone"—

Sirius laughed. "Did you find it in the goat's stomach or kidney?"

"I don't know," Peter said with a shrug, "to me, they're both sac-like organs. I couldn't tell one from the other."

Sirius let out a sigh and turned to James. "Goats don't get kidney stones!"

James simply cocked an eyebrow at him. "Er…I don't know how to respond to that."

"Never mind," Sirius said, "go back to Lily."

James happily did as he was told without argument. He slowly shifted in his seat to get a better look at Lily and her date, only to find that Jack was getting up. Sitting straighter, James watched as he slipped through the crowded restaurant towards the back, where the bathrooms were. James chanced a glance at Lily, who was now sitting alone and studying her fingernails. She shifted slightly in her seat, causing her cloak which was hanging on her chair to slip to the ground.

_Baby don't you know I love you so  
Can't you feel it when we touch  
I will never never let you go  
I love you oh so much_

Ignoring the taunting of Sirius and Peter, James got up and headed towards Lily's table. As he neared her, she looked up at him, smiling. But then it seemed to register that the man in front of her was not her date, but James Potter, and almost instantly her smile melted.

"Hi." Lily said. She wasn't being particularly friendly, but she was polite. It was one of her many appealing traits. No matter how she felt about someone, she was always polite. Well, except occasionally to him, but he had usually provoked her significantly to force her to forget herself.

"Er…hi." He replied, watching Lily as she traced her index finger along her glass of water, creating a line of zigzags. He loved her fingers. They were long and delicate-looking, and she never wore nail polish. He had no idea why he loved that so much – perhaps it was the simplicity and naturalness in it, or maybe it was because most girls his age wore bright colored nail polish and he liked that Lily was different – he just knew that he loved her hands as they were.

"Um…what do you want, Potter?"

Lily's look of indifference had switched to one of slight concern. Understandably. He had been standing there looking stupidly at her for several seconds now. James snapped into his senses and grinned.

"Oh, sorry…I just…"

"Yes?"

"You just dropped your cloak." James replied as he bent behind Lily's chair and picked up her fallen cloak. As he did so, he felt Lily craning her head back to see him, her long red hair brushing against his forearm in the process, sending chills all along his body.

"Thanks." she replied as James set the cloak back over her chair.

"No problem."

"So…" Lily started, still looking questioningly at James, "I see you got a couple of Valentines today?"

James grinned, glancing back at Sirius and Peter, whose ongoing conversation about kidney stones and bezoars could now be heard all the way from Lily's table. ("Ok, no. Bezoars are only found in the stomachs of goats, not humans!" Sirius said exasperatedly).

"Yeah," James replied with a wink, "We make a fine threesome."

Lily frowned with a look of slight disgust, prompting James to mutter a quick apology and an attempt at changing the subject.

"So…Jack Wank—uh, Wanler…" James started quickly, running his fingers through his hair automatically, "you're going out with him?"

"Yes, Potter. I am."

James smiled slightly. She was staring at her glass and was sitting a bit straighter. "Oh."

"He asked me out a few days ago, and I said yes."

"Clearly."

Lily looked up at him. She looked a tad flushed. Then she smiled. "Yes, clearly. So perhaps you should go back to your dates so I can get back to mine."

James smiled and raised his hands in surrender. "Sorry, I didn't know I was interrupting."

"Bye Potter."

And as James turned to leave, he saw Jack out of the corner of his eye, making his way back to the table.

"Was that James Potter?" he heard Jack ask a moment later.

"Yeah. He was just saying hi." Lily replied.

_  
You can dance, go and carry on  
Till the night is gone  
And it's time to go_

Lily carried on with her date. They ordered some food, and Jack continued his story about how he had awkwardly run into Professor McGonagall last summer at a beach in the Canary Islands, and how he was still quite scarred from seeing her in a muggle sundress. She laughed when he laughed, but she only half-heard his joke about McGonagall's taste in straw hats.

There was something sweet about him. And almost kind. But this was James. One of the most uncouth, uncaring toe rags she had met…or so she had told him many moons ago when he had first begun pursuing her. Lily took a sip of her water, glancing back at the table where James and Peter sat, while they watched Sirius Black most expertly charm one of the waitresses into selling him a bottle of firewhiskey.

She let her hands fall onto her lap as she continued to listen to Jack speak, occasionally throwing in a small laugh or a "yeah, definitely" to feign interest. She let her fingers wring each other uncertainly as she wondered if James had changed, or if she was seeing him in a new light. It wasn't that she cared for him, because she certainly didn't. They had too much of a history of fighting, of her telling him off for being a cruel idiot. She was simply wondering – Lily thought to herself – if James Potter was turning out to be more human than she had previously given him credit for.

But the fact that she was wondering about this, that she was even giving this any thought at all…this was all very new to her, and slightly alarming…

_If he asks if you're all alone  
Can he walk you home, you must tell him no  
_

_'Cause don't forget who's taking you home  
And in whose arms you're gonna be  
So darling, save the last dance for me_

"So, I had a really great time."

Lily smiled as she looked into Jack's bright blue eyes. She really liked his eyes. They were a delicate hazel…

"Me too!" Lily replied with a small laugh as she quickly averted her gaze from Jack. "This was fun…"

"Definitely"—Jack took a hold of Lily's hands and gently pulled her closer—"it's getting late though…let me walk you back to the castle?"

Lily's eyes darted up to meet Jack's. "Oh! Well…I actually had a couple of things to do before going back…some errands to run."

"Oh, alright. I'll come with you"—

"No, it's alright!" Lily said with a small laugh, patting Jack on the arm. "You go on without me. Really. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Jack asked, looking at Lily questioningly. She smiled and nodded in response, and so he pursued no further. "Alright. I'll see you back at the castle then."

He turned to leave, but Lily gently pulled him back. "Thank you for today. It really was nice." She said, still smiling.

Jack smiled back, and leaning forward, he kissed her on the cheek.

_  
'Cause don't forget who's taking you home  
And in whose arms you're gonna be  
So darling, save the last dance for me  
Save the last dance for me_

"Forget it. As of today, I am a confirmed bachelor. I will never date again."

James chuckled as he patted Remus on the shoulder. "Were you that bad a kisser, Moony?"

Remus looked reproachfully at him. "I didn't kiss her. She tried kissing me, but she didn't give me any warning, so when I leaned back in my seat, she leaned forward and her hand sort of slipped into by bowl of soup."

The other three marauders howled with laughter. "Can't believe you gave your date third degree burns," Sirius said, sniggering when Remus muttered something about it only being a minor burn, "hey, tell us again about your concept of being warned about snogging…"

"I'm sorry," Remus said, rolling his eyes, "bad choice of words. I simply meant that I just wasn't expecting it!"

"Whatever, Moony," Peter laughed, "I don't think I've even spazzed that badly on a date"—

"Considering that you've never been on a real date…" James cut in. "and that one with your cousin Lucy last summer doesn't count. She paid you to take her to that party because she couldn't find anyone else to take her."

"She was a dull girl...and a bit…er…tarty." Peter said, shaking his head with as much conviction as he could muster so as to take the focus off the fact that it was not a real date.

"She was at that." Sirius agreed, though he himself had never met the girl, but only heard about her.

The four continued to walk down the snowy streets of Hogsmeade, alternating between discussing Peter's cousin Lucy and Remus's paradoxical nature of being a complete gentleman who was inept at dating. After a failed attempt on Sirius's part to get the owner of the Hog's Head to sell them various alcoholic beverages and several "Loose Lucy" jokes later, the marauders began to make their way back to the castle. It was when they passed Dervish and Banges that the shop door burst open rather suddenly, revealing a tired-looking, yet (to James's delight) unattached Lily Evans.

"Oh, hey!" she said, her face brightening slightly at the sight of them. James's heart began beating uncontrollably fast, but then almost immediately slowed down to its normal pace again when he realized that it was not so much him whom Lily had been happy to see, but Remus.

"So, I ran into Natalia a few minutes ago." She said, grinning as she fell in line with the group and continued walking with them towards the castle.

"Did you?" Sirius asked, glancing over at Remus to smirk at him.

Lily glared at him, and then turned her attention back to Remus, who looked a bit miserable. "I hope you've been ignoring whatever these three dolts have been telling you. I'm sure the date didn't go as badly as you think it did." She said, smiling sympathetically at him. And with that, she and Remus fell into a quiet discussion of the date, and Remus's chances with Natalia –which apparently hadn't dwindled down to zero, according to Lily. Shortly into the discussion, the other three marauders were banished from the conversation, due to their "inability to be supportive", as Lily had put it, and were forced to walk the rest of the way in virtual silence.

Sirius and Peter soon decided to continue their discussion of bezoars and kidney stones, and were currently wondering if they could somehow convince Professor Dumbledore to invite his brother Aberforth, who was known to be a goat expert, to come as a guest lecturer to the school. James listened on with mild interest and amusement, knowing full well that Sirius's intentions were probably to see how long he could promote goat education at Hogwarts before landing himself a detention.

But for the most part, he was listening to Remus and Lily's conversation. Not the actual content of the conversation, but rather, the manner with which they spoke. Like old friends…which they admittedly were. They had always been close, Lily and Remus…and while James would never admit it to anyone, he sometimes hated Remus for that…for keeping Lily to himself, for not sharing her, for not trying to convince Lily that James wasn't the devil incarnate. Remus _knew_ to a great extent what Lily meant to him…why couldn't he do this one favor for his friend?

"Lily, I will _not_ take her dancing"—

"But Natalia loves to dance!" Lily said, cutting off Remus.

"But I have two left feet…" Remus protested. "I'd have to learn how to dance properly first before attempting to take her dancing."

Finally bored from his discussion of goats, Sirius reentered the conversation. "It's true. You should see our boy cha-cha," he said with a grin, slapping Remus on the back.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Well, it's not that hard to learn"—

"Just because you and your boyfriend know how to dance and enjoy doing a public performance for everyone, that doesn't mean everyone is so inclined…" Sirius interjected.

Lily cocked an eyebrow at him. "What are you talking about, Black?"

Sirius chuckled and grabbed a hold of Lily's waist, swinging her in a circle. "I'm talking about the little waltzing you and Jack did when you came into the Three Broomsticks…" he said over Lily's protests, trying to imitate Jack's earlier movements by attempting to twirl Lily around.

"I swear," Lily started, wincing as Sirius trod on right foot, "I always thought nothing worked above your neck, but now I'm starting to think that nothing works beneath it either. Let go of me or I'll hex you."

Sirius immediately let go of Lily, pushing her accidentally-yet-a-bit-on-purposely at James, who caught her.

"Anyway, we were just joking around, Jack and I…" Lily said as James helped her steady herself. She glanced back at James, who stood behind her and was holding her wrists. Their eyes met briefly, and for a moment, James looked like he was going to shrink back – possibly out of fear of being hexed for touching Lily. But when she didn't attempt to pull her wrists out of his grasp, James smirked, and an instant later, Lily had been spun around to face him.

"What"—

"Oi – get ready to take notes, Moony." James said with a grin. And with that he began to hum rather off-key, and proceeded to lead Lily into a dance. To James's great surprise, he was not rebuffed.

To Lily's great surprise, she did not push James away, but instead followed him. His humming was a bit obnoxious, but that aside, he was a good dancer. She glanced up at him, and saw that he was smiling at her. Just smiling. Not leering or even smirking…just smiling…almost warmly. Slightly startled, she averted her gaze.

"You do surprise me sometimes, Potter." She muttered as she focused on the breast pocket of James's coat.

James chuckled. "Does the idea of me being a good dancer _and_ a pleasant person scare you?"

"Don't flatter yourself."

"Sorry, but it's hard not to feel flattered, getting the last dance with you and whatnot…" James replied.

Lily wanted to look up, to see his facial expression, but instead rolled her eyes, keeping her head leveled. "Yes," she said sarcastically, "I was actually saving it just for you."

Almost immediately, Lily pulled away. She had said it sarcastically. She had _meant_ it sarcastically. But how did _he _take it?

"Well, anyway…I need to hurry up and get back to the castle…I'm going to meet Jack." She said with a smile, turning to Remus. "I want to hear more about you and Natalia later."

"If there's anything to tell…" Remus replied, looking at Lily bemusedly.

Lily turned away quickly. "Bye guys"—she said as she began to hurry away. She looked over her shoulder though once and waved as she added—"Bye James!"

She didn't smile at him, but he felt it in her voice. _It was all in her voice_, James thought to himself as he smiled and waved back at her, even though she had already turned her back on him and was hurrying back to the castle ahead of them.

It took James several seconds to realize he was walking alone. He turned around, only to find his friends rooted to the ground several feet behind him.

"What?" he asked innocently.

Peter frowned. "I'm sorry, but did she just call you James?"

"Er"—

Sirius folded his arms over his chest, and was staring intently at James. "Did she just act nicely towards you?"

Remus, who almost never found anything funny, was the only one who seemed to be amused. He was actually laughing. "Did she just single you and say goodbye to you?" he asked.

James smiled, but did not reply. Instead, he continued on his way. Soon, his friends followed, and could be heard listing all the possibly ways Lily Evans might have been injured in such a way as to sustain extensive brain damage. But James was hardly listening. She may not have given her heart to him, but he was almost certain that she wouldn't forget this, that she wouldn't forget whose arms she was in moments before; and for now, that was enough for James.

_So Darling, _

_Save the last dance for me._


End file.
